Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter

Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter biography

A French pianist of Polish origin, Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter is a musician with a varied background and a broad repertoire who has been moulded in the grand tradition of the French, Polish and German piano schools.
His particularly thoughtful and original interpretations cast a new light on the works he plays. A deep and harmonious tone and a technical mastery that allows his music to blossom to the full are the hallmarks of his piano playing.

Following his studies at the National Conservatoire of Music in Paris starting at the age of thirteen and where he obtained a first prize for piano and for chamber music, he remained there to take the advanced course.

In 1989 he met Krystian Zimerman who advised and guided him in his choices; it was one of the decisive moments in his musical career.

He then attended the Freiburg Conservatoire in Germany where he was awarded the soloist diploma. He then decided to perfect his repertoire with some of the great figures in music such as Georgy Sebok, Alexis Weissenberg, Fou T'song, Alicia de Larocha, Andréas Staier and Léon Fleischer during his stay at the prestigious International Foundation of Lake Como in Italy.

As the winner of international competitions he was nominated as a Classical Revelation by Adami and is a Juventus prize-winner. Maria Joao Pirès also noticed him and invited him to the Lille Piano Festival.

Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter is now pursuing his soloist career in recitals and with orchestras. He performs in prestigious concert halls such as the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Paris Opera, the Musée d’Orsay, the Cité de la Musique, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Concertgebouw d’Amsterdam, the Grenada and Murcia Auditorium in Spain and in those of Monterrey in Mexico and in numerous festivals such as the Menton Music Festival, the Lazienki Piano Festival in Warsaw, the Thüringer-Bachwochen, and the Byblos Festival in Lebanon...

He plays as a soloist conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Arie Van Beek, Diego Matheuz, Stéphane Cardon, Jean-François Verdier, Alain Moglia, Gilbert Amy and Benjamin Lévy and with countless orchestras in France and abroad, including the Paris Opera Orchestra, the Colonne Orchestra, the Youth Simon Bolivar Orchestra, the Chamber Music Orchestras of Auvergne, Toulouse...

He takes part in various radio and television programmes: France Culture, France Musique, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Radio Suisse Romande, France 2, France 3, the BBC and TV Polonia.

He is regularly invited to perform with partners such as Tedi Papavrami, Solenne Païdassi, David Grimal, Gionata Sgambarao and Alexandre Tharaud, who says of him "Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter is one of the best pianists of the day. I am fascinated by his interpretation of Bach, Chopin and Debussy.

He takes part in projects bringing together music and litterature, sharing stage with renowned actors such as Marie-Christine Barrault, Brigitte Fossey, Catherine Jacob and François Morel.

His discography on Satie, Liszt, Chopin and Szymanowski has been awarded with the highest distinctions from german presse Fonoforum ****, Piano News****, a Pianiste Maestro and four stars of Le Monde la la Musique, the Adami price for the Youth as well as the Grand Prix Charles Cros in France.

The CD “Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter plays Szymanowski” released in 2011 is the first volume of recordings on Szymanowski’s complete piano works. A CD with chamber music works by Szymanowski and Stravinsky has been released in 2014 (label Aparté) together with violonist Solenne Païdassi, and has already been rewarded with the highest distinctions such as CHOC by Classica, MAESTRO by Pianiste Magazine, 5 Diapason, a 10/10 by Klassik-Heute and the Key of the month by Resmusica.

Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter is also the founder and artistic director of the A Tempo Festival in southern France.